Field notes on a t o l l s v i s i t ed i n t h e Marshalls, 1956 by Herold J. Wiens Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council Washington, D. C. Septeruber 15, 1977 FIE-= KOTXS ON ATOLLS VISITED 111 LF:T~s~s, 1956 by Herold J. Wiens Since the spring of 1955 I have been engaged i n a study for the Pacif ic Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council in which I am attempting t o analyze, synthesize and generalize t o the extent of my capacity cer ta in scholarly data and other published information about coral a t o l l s and reef islands i n the t rop ica l Pacific. These data per ta in t o the physical environment and general ecology of such a t o l l s and islands, t o man's s i t u a t i o n and ro le i n them, and t o the inter-rela-tionships between man and his physical and biological environment on them. I n the summer of 1954 I was thegeographer on the Pacif ic Science Bcard expedition t o Kapingamarangi i n the Eastern Carolines and b r i e f ly v i s i t e d 5. other a t o l l s and anuninhabited reef i$land i n t h i s region. With the goal of gaining b e t t e r ins ight and per- spective on the aspects of coral a to l l s . and reef islands' i n dif ferent precipi- t a t ion zones, I pursued fur ther f i e l d s tudies i n the s k e r of 1956, v i s i t i ng b r i e f l y or f o r longer periods eleven d i f f e r en t a t o l l s and two single reef islands i n the Marshalls. Although pre-planning of i t i ne ra r i e s proved t o be ra ther f u t i l e , it turned out t ha t I was able t o v i s i t representative a t o l l s and islands i n the dry northern, intermediate humid and we-L southern.parts ... of both the eastern and the western chains of t he Marshalls. The notes presented here generally were typed up with l i t t l e c h a n g e from f i e l d notes wri t ten while on the a t o l l s described o r i ked ia - t e ly a f t e r departure from them. They should be viewed only as f i e l d notes, therefore, and not as systematic s tudies of any so r t . Al l types of information s t r i k ing my at tent ion vere jot ted down. Most werejfrom d i r ec t observations; others were derived from informants. The amount of time spent upon anyatol l? d i f - fered from t h a t spent on others, and I had no control over my transportation schedules. Traveling was done bysmalS50-70 ft. schooners for the most par t , although tvo or three t r i p s vere made ,by a i r . On some a t o l l s there vas time only f o r one t o several hours of ground examination during daylight. On others, several days,qrere available, 'al though owing t o heavy continuous. ra ins on such a t o l l s a s Arno and Foon, no-t a l l the t i m e i n such longer stays could, be used t o advantage. The distributiOri of the i s l e t s along scores of miles of reefs, the changing s t a t e of the t ide interrupt ing. t r ave l between i s l e t s , the ' lack of l oca l transpor-Lation, and the f a c t t h a t v i s i t i ng s c h ~ o ~ ~ e i i s stop, only a t one or trro of the scat tered b i t s of land combined with the briefness o f the stops i n l imit ing my observations. These Ximitations accoun-L for the frag- mentary character of these observations m d f o r t h e i r unequal amoun-t and qual i ty . The reader is begged indulgence fop these deficiencies. The notes a r e offered i n s p i t e of them if f o r nothing e l se than t h a t some of these a t o l l s a r e seldom vis i ted , a n d ' l i t t l e i s lmotrn of them. I grateful ly aclrnorrledge the a i d and cooperation of the United S-tates Naval au thor i t i es on Ihlajelein and of the Distric-L Adminis-tration of the Trust Terr i tory a t Majuro and (~onne rak ia caseolaris) , jonF: ( ~ r u g u i e r a conjugata), and eoealc (~hizophora - n t m -.-A the l a t t e r has an oblong shaped. l ea f ; photos of a l l three types xiere taken. One Hernandia sonora seen rras one foot i n diameter. Merlap ( ~ a n a v a l i a m i c r o ~ a r p a ) ~ a = purple color w a s observed. The i s l e t as a 115le impressed one with the abundance of pandanus and t a l l breadfrui t t rees . A t the t i p near Airik the coconut t rees ark i n sandy s o i l and tend t o have a chlorotic color and a re 1011. However, a ~ r e l l with water t a s t i ng f resh oc- curs only 30 f e e t from the lagoon shore, rrith surface water ( a t t he t i d a l stage observed) of four f e e t belov the surface of the ground. Seagrape bushes and a var ie ty of croton bushes a r e comnion decorative shrubs alone the sides - - .- of t he road traversing the i s l e t . Other comnon t rees a r e Hibiscus, Plumeria, Calophyllum and Barringtonia. Residences observed on Buoj and Airik appear be t t e r than i n most Marshallese settlements, about on a par with those of Likiep and Ebon. The magistrate here i s Jorninea; Luta i s headman of Buoj.and Leiran is headman of Airik. Both Marmoru and Maida speak English riell. Albert, a Gilbertese married t o a l oca l Marshallese Catholic i s a Protestant riho is building a s tore t o compete with Mieco, He speaks excel lent English. A neat, clean medical c l i n i c with t r o rooms stands a couple of houses from the home of Maida Kabua vho is a descendailt of the Kabua kings whose gyaves a r e s i t ua t ed across the road from Maida's house i n Buoj. F i d a sa id tha t serious diseases or ac- cidents r a r e ly occur; skin infections, eye infection, and colds are the com- moner a f f l i c t i ons . The new Protestant Church almost completed and subsequently dedicated i n ear ly August 1956 was designed by a Marshallese carpenter trained i n his profession by the Japanese during t h e i r period of occupation. He has displayed a good deal of imagination i n decoration, i f h i s color schemes a re a b i t gar ish i n t h e i r primary colors. . . . . Eika jla I s l e t across 'from Buo j shoxis an extraordinary development of coral boulders lying loosely, and apparently permeable t o s a l t water for about 250 f e e t in laad from the ocean-side. I n t he outer par ts dense growths of Morinda c i t r i f o l i a and Guettarda l i e i n almost ra infores t gloom, rrith l iana- l i k e vines of a Wedelia-tne weed f a l l i n g from the i r crowns and hanging leaf- - - - - l e s s i n the perpetual shadows. Farther inland Bruguiera conjuga'ca provides dense shade, intermingled with some Pandanus, i ts gnarled, humped-up roots covered with a hairy green coat of algae or lichen. The land forms a low trough here. ~ s p l e n i & n idus and Nephrolepis acuta gror,r on the trunks and - old s t u m s of coconut and other t rees . Throughout the seaward 200 f e e t or - - so pandanus jungle predominates. Feu coconut t rees occur un t i l , toward the in te r ior , a r i s e on thelagoon-side of the trough and fresh-water-holding s o i l have allowed a dense growth of young coconut sprouts among older t r ee s . The i s l e t looks as i f no man had disturbed things for decades. A b r ie f stop was made a t Biliar I s l e t on the north end of the a t o l l . Here only one or two residences rrere inhabited. The south end of Bikar appeared t o be a re la t ive ly ner? addition of sand v i th numerous pioneer plants. Strong wave erosion on the lagoon shore has almost destroyed the rock-lined road b u i l t during Japanese or German times, having undercut 10-20 f e e t of the lagoon shore land. Orange colored algae cover the reef rock extending i n t o the lagoon s ide of the in tev- i s le t channel. on %he sou-th s ide of the i s l e t . Ailuk Atol l -- Ailulr I s l e t is the main res ident ia l i s l e t , but is rather small, not more than 1500 f e e t long nor any wider, No unusual topographic features were ob- served. There a re no very large i s l e t s on Ailuk Atoll. Breadfruit t rees were numerous and mostly 40 f e e t t a l l o r lower, a l - though several vere up t o 60 f e e t t a l l with trunks more than 3 f e e t i n dime- t e r , indicating tha t the storm of 1951probably had not been so damaging as it was at Utirik. Generally the vegetatioii under the coconut t rees was similar t o t h a t a t Ut i r ik and Mejit, v i t h arrowroot very prevalent everywhere. Many t a ro p i t s were seen i n the in te r ior , but i n several only small par ts were planted -to taro. Most of the p i t s had been abandoned t o weeds. On the north channel s ide of the i s l e t Pemphis i s the main bush, while Scaevola becomes more common on the ocean s ide beaches. Numerous bushes of '-erodendrum -inerme) grew i n the v ic in i ty of the t a ro p i t s . Numerous large sa i l i ng outriggers sa i led i n t o the waters of the lagoon (v i l lage) from the re la t ive ly Large i s l e t a t the opposite end of the lagoon. On the oceanside someone had rrritten jus t before sundotm i n the wet sand a long l i n e of words careful ly inscribed i n Marshallese follot.red by the English sentence: "Please remember me always, Nathan," apparently intending the inscr ipt ion t o be washed away by the next high t i d e and so having the message conveyed t o the heart of the loved one. Arno Atoll -- Ine I s l e t has an unusually high sand ridge on the lagoon s ide and i n the northern pa r t of Ine vi l lage. A f ine 'ride sand beach of moderate firm- ness f o r walking is found most of the length of Ine on the lagoon side. The seaward s ide of Ine has a high l eve l coral boulder rampart over 100 f e e t wide sloping gently toward the low center of the i s l e t which is well cleared of undergrowth. Some t a ro p i t s a r e i n use fo r taro, but others have been abandoned. Xuch breadfruit i s produced frcm the numerous t rees , and there appears t o be an abundance of banana and pandanus t rees . The vi l lage houses a r e fo r the most par t ra ther poorly constructed and maintained. The vil lage school i s i n a dilapidated condition which i s inexcusable; walls ro t ted away and t i n roof f u l l of large holes; the f loor wet with water and l i t t e r e d with debris. A dedication plaque surrdounted with an A i r Force Wings insignia indicates the building was constructed or completed December 3, 1944, when the C.O. of the area was L t . Col. C . V. Burnett, stationed a t Majuro. Kojboy (~ i j -Bwe) I s l e t near one of the passes provides a sheltered an- chorage fo r ships wishing t o anchor jus t inside the pass. It has a f i n e sand beach facing the lagoon, with a coarse boulder and cobbled beach on the ariindward s ide above a so l id rock bench r i s ing two f e e t above the reef f l a t . This bench has been well smoothed by .the grinding of sand and gravel worked back and for th by waves. Inward from the beach coarse coral boulders loosely p i l ed and blackened by algae reach 30-100 f e e t toward the middle of the i s l e t . On th i s , Scaevola is most prevalent, followed- by Pandanus and Guettarda. On -- the end of the i s l e t facing the pass, the corgl boulders reach inrra;.d t o greater depth i n a ser ies of raupaiLts. This type of i s l e t s t ructure is typical of many observed throughout the Marshalls a s well as a t JSapingamarangi i n the Carolines. It leads me t o be- l i eve that -the coarse coral blocks on the SealJard side, up Lo one or two f e e t i n diameter and loosely piled, must have been deposited at one time i n a s ingle major storm. The modern beach fronting t h i s layer of bloclts a t Kojboy, fo r instance comprises mostly smaller gravel, well rounded and polished and pi led i n a ridge or sometimes i n tvo or more ridges above the so l id rock bench and forming the beach proper. A t other i s l e t s where wave action has eaten in l~a rd upon the i s l e t , such coarse coral boulders, l i t t l e vol-n and rounded by wave action, have been observed t o be underlain by well worn and rounded gravels and f ine r materials. Uong the end of Kojboy Islet facing the pass, the srr i f t current and t i d a l pounding have l e f t no sand accumulation as often is the case a t points facing shallo1,r i n t e r - i s l e t channels which a re dry a t low t ide . The beach accumulation forming the lagoonward-turning point of the i s l e t here comprises coarse cobbles and gravels overgrown with a scattered growth of Scaevola. In the in t e r io r of Kojboy, the ground under the coconut palms has been kept cleared except for low shmbs, ferns and grasses. One o r t ~ . ~ o families have residence houses here, bu t the ta ro p i t i n the center is not used for taro, but has been abandoned t o weed growth. Like the other i s l e t s observed, Arno I s l e t has a similar coarse cobble beach on the seaward side, with a f i n e sandy beach on the lagoon s ide. On the eastern end where the is land becomes attenuated and connects arith a very narrow (50-80 f e e t wide) i s l e t ea s t of it, the connection i s a sand ridge apparently broken a t times hen storm waves or spring high t ides bring water sweeping across it. Small boats car? land readily on the south or seaward s ide when winds a re not strong from the southeast. Arno I s l e t has comparatively grea twid th for a t o l l land areas, and the in t e r io r of the wide portion has become overgrown. Weed t r e e species o r coconut jungles are v i r tua l ly impenetrable in small sections. Numerous former t a r o p i t s i n the central portion have been abandoned t o become pandanus swamps. Domestic pigs have been allowed t o run wild and f ind many coverts and thickets i n which t o hide. Large numbers of breadfruit t rees grow on the island, together with p l en t i fu l pandamus and banana t rees . Residences a re widely separated for the most par t . Ebon Atol l -- Ebon I s l e t is the l a rges t and widest i s l e t on the reef and compares with Arno I s l e t on Arno Atoll i n width but is much longer; the north1.restern f ive miles o r so i s mostly narrow, 50-1.50 feel; i n the middle pa r t an& videning t o abou-t 500 fee-t i n the norbheastern t i p . The seaward beach is a very firm, sand t o gravelly sand beach for much of i ts length, possibly with hard rock underlying it. Except f o r the vi l lage area i n the wide p a r t of the i s l e t , the lagoon s ide northeasttrar' i s not sandy but has a rocky t o gravelly beach with extensive rock f l a t s exposed a-t 1017 t i de . The reef f l a t on the ocean s ide is ra ther smooth with few loose rocks and boulders. Erosional remnants of former i s l e t bedrock a r e revealed i n the northeast cen t r a l sector of the i s l e t by a se r ies of jaggedly eroded rock platforms 10 io 20 fee-i; vide and up t o 30-4-0 f e e t long. These a r e spaced i n a l i n e of ha l f a mile or more flanking the lagoon rock f l a t about 100-400 f e e t off the present lagoon shore and above t i d e water. They lead me t o believe "cat 'tnce the i s l e t here was up t o 500 f e e t wide instead of the present 100-feet. The erosion tha t has ..: taken place has been largely on the lagoon s ide where the present hard rock .: f l a t now stands. In the extreme northeast p a r t of the lagoon, an amazingly ; f la t limestone reef bare at low vater i s almost smooth enough for r o l l e r skating. The jagged remnants above the reef f l a t suppor-t a good growth of Pemphis acidula, with roots anchored i n erosional pockets containing some sand and holding f resh water a f t e r ra ins . These remnants r i s e 4& f e e t above the surface of the reef f l a t . These erosional remnants a r e similar t o eroded bedrock i n other areas, i n the sharp and jagged character of the surface, which type of surface appears t o occur most often where r a in water dissolu- t i on ra ther than wave action is the dis integrat ing fac tor involved. A pace measurement of Ebon I s l e t a t t h e new church, i n a l i n e running from ocean s ide t o lagoon s ide, shotred a '7idth of 600 fee t . .The wide p a r t must be four o r f i ve times t h i s width. A 50-60 foot s t r i p bordering the ocean s ide stands as a r e l a t i ve ly high beach rampart from which the land slopes in- ward toward a central trough which in places reaches within a foot of the fresh-water-lens surface, as revealed i n dug wells and i n ta ro p i t s . Roads. 6 f e e t wide border the res ident ia l a,nd wide p a r t of the i s l e t , 50 f e e t from the ocean beach and 150 f e e t from the lagoon beach. Vegetationally, Ebon I s l e t is one of t he r iches t seen i n the Marshalls. Here a r e the most numerous lime, banana, breadfruit , and papaya t rees a s well as numerous pandanus trees. Most of the i s l e t is kept t , ~ e l l cleared of undergrowth, so t h a t coconuts maj j be gathered eas i ly . I n the cen t ra l par t s of the wide section, however, vegetation has been l e f t t o grow unchecked, with a dense cover of a l l types of character is t ic a t o l l t rees i n almost jungle- l i k e masses amidst which a r e nearly concealed ta ro p i t s which a re poorly maintained, overcrovded with ferns and grasses and unlike the neatly weeded t a r o beds of Mokil, Pingelap andKapingamarangi i n the Eas-tern Carolines. This greater carelessness may be due t o the f a c t t ha t men i n the Marshalls have the job of farming whereas i n the other areas women do the -taro-pit trork and o$m the taro patches; a t l e a s t t h i s is the case i n Kapingamarangi. Morinda, Hibiscus and even Guettarda crowd the cen t ra l of the i s l e t together with Pandanus and occasional breadfruit t rees . In t h i s centra1,over- grown section. however. coconut t rees a r e dead and decaoitated or old and i n - A ~~ ~ ~ -~ ~~ ~ ~ . - poor condi t ioi~ and a r e few and scattered. I was informed tha t coconut t rees did not grow well here. possibly t h i s condition may be re la ted t o the existence here of too high a concentration 0.1 phosphate; f o r -the Japanese dug and exported a phosphate rock from here, some p i l e s of which remain heaped-up next t o Lhe lagoonside road from the mr period. The nezlect of t h i s i n t e r io r area a l so may be re- l a t ed t o the richness of food production on the i s l e t and the r e l a t i ve sparse- ness of population for so la rge an area. Certainly the houses and yards show an evidence of care and prosperity not seen elsewhere i n the Marshalls except a t Ailinglaplap, or possibly a t Likiep. On the northeast p a r t of the i s l e t where the vidth reaches about 500 f ee t , coconut t rees a r e tall and d~071ded. but the underarovth i s keat dovn t o 101.1 ;reeds and ferns of which .there a r e pienty. The wee& here a r e k g n a - marina and WedeLia b i f lo ra , with some Guettarda and Pandanus here and .there. The ground often i s almost bare of weeds where a cobbly surface prevails . Even i n some of the narrower parts, scarcely 50-60 fee% vide, so&e breadfrui t t r ee s grov, possibly because the alignment of the i s l e t here v i t h the wind direct ion reduces the ingress of s a l t spray. The amazing a b i l i t y of coconut t rees t o gain a footing i n the most barren s i tua t ions is revealed by the f i v e adul t palms, plus a small paadanus. and one young coconut t r ee groving on Nakor I s l e t separated by a chaniiel from the nor-theastern end of Ebon I s l e t . Nalcor comprises a small sand patch 10 f e e t by 20 f e e t on top of baye rock washed by s a l t water a t high t ide . Apparently the sand cover of 1-2 f e e t depth plus pockets holding f resh >rater i n the rock a f t e r r a i n f a l l supplies the moisture needed by the plants . On .the south~.rest end of Ebon Isle-t jus t beyond the l a s t residence house a -tongue of sand stretches i n an arch tor&-d the-lagoon. On th i s , pioneer seedlings include Calophyllum, Me~se~schmidia, Scaevola, Pandanus, coconut, Wedelia, Cassytha, and several grasses. Breadfruit; t rees on Ebon for the most p a r t a r e of a low variety and not exceeding about 60 f e e t height. A specimen of - kirak or - lurak noca carpus fagiferus? ) observed was about 60 f e e t t a l l and had somewhai; yellorred leaves. Southwest of Ebon I s l e t a r e two i s l e t s close together connected by a ridge of sand vhere spring high t i d e probably washes through. The one near- e s t Ebon I s l e t i s Enearmi, meanin8 " is land of people", about 600 f e e t vide and somewh.rha-t longer. The other i s l e t i s narrower and about the same length. About half of the former on the ocean s ide which i s l e e t o the wind i s covered >rith loose coral blocks providing an unstable foothold. Ap~arentl-y the ground underlieath comprises materials holding a f resh water lens horrever, since the area i s r ich ly productive both of coconuts and of t a l l l a rge 'b readf ru i t t rees with trunks up t o f ive f e e t diameter. Blaclc humus was observed i n pa r t s where t he surface was cleared of co ra l blocks. The ground i s heaped everyvhere with p i l e s of moulding coconut husks and f a l l en fronds and i s poorly cleared. The leeward half facing the pass i n t o the a t o l l is high with boulders, and slopes t o a low elevation toward the center. The coral. hloclcs give the i m - pression of having been pushed i.nl.nnd, possibly during a s ing le typhoon, and t h e i r rough shapes contrast with -the smoother sand and wave washed cobbles and gravels forming the modern beach. Everywhere Asplenium - nidus and Nephrolepis grot? upon the ground, stumps and coconut Crees. Morinda c i t r i f o l i a is a com- mon understory t ree . A small plant observed was ca l led rebi.ireka (probably Peperomia i n t h i s habi ta t ) meaning " to hold t o the rock." -- The reef f l a t ocean~rard has a bumpy looking surface rrith imbedded clams about three inches i n diameter. Apparently owing t o ra ther strong winds and waves during the previous night, large quant i t ies of branching an t l e r corals from the lagoon had been washed up onto the shallow parts of the reef f l a t i n the i n t e r - i s l e t channels southwest of Ebon I s l e t and adjacent t o the ship pass, there t o d ie and ro t . Tide poo1.s rrith only an inch o r ttro of water a t low t ide contained several types of corals, including one with l i g h t blue t i p s and clustered branch effect , a massive dark-blue, f l a t , fingered type, and the massive brain coral and "micro-atolls" v i t h a l l but the outer r ing dead, usually of an orange purplish color i n the l i v e fringe. Culturally speaking rel igion plays an important p a r t here as elsewhere i n the Marshalls, most of the population of about 800 being Protestant. There a r e t ~ ? o Protestant churches, one a wooden s t ructure with t i n roof and the other, a mile d0x.m the other end of the settlement t o the southvest, a thatched roof building. Adjacen-b t o the l a t t e r is a l a rge new concrete church being b u i l t (has been under construction fo r three years, but lack of concrete blocks s t a l l e d completion) which is t o be finished fo r the centen- n i a l i n 1957 of the entry of Christianity to,Ebon and the Marshalls. In the religious homes Protestant families have prayers and hymns a t evening and before breakfast, t .~hile on Sunday church services i n the morning from 10-12 ( the f i r s t hour fo r general church, the second f o r Sunday ~ c h o o l ) and Chris- tian Endeavor i n the afternoon f i l l the t i m e . No work is done. Special services a l so a r e held a t the f i r s - t of the month, and there a re prayer meet- ings during the veek, usually on Wednesday. The two houses of the magistrate's family and re la t ives each had a phonograph with records of religious, h i l l b i l l y , Japanese and cowboy songs. The magistrate informed me t h a t there were four or f ive battery-operated radio receivers on t h e I s l e t which got news and music from Majuro and Kwaje- l e i n broadcasting s ta t ions. He was informed of the a r r i v a l of our schooner before it was sighted. A pool "hall" for b i l l i a r d s is the most popular re- s o r t of the a t o l l sports, and t h i s is a common feature on other Marshall a t o l l s as well, some having more than one b i l l i w d table. The job of chi l - dren h e r e i s t o pick up a l l leaves of breadfrui t and other t rees i n the res ident ia l yard every morning and remove them or p i l e them up away from the yard, as observed a t Kapingamarangi: iii contrast t o the l a t t e r a t o l l where uomen do a l l the cooking, and associated ac t iv i t i e s , I saw a man grat- ing coconuts, s i t t i n g i n a cookhouse with the women. Raw f i s h here a s else- where i n the Marshalls i s often eaten as soon a s caught, and the in te rna l organs appear t o be especially prized. Children catching small f i s h b i t e open the s-tomachs and e a t the flesh, prying i n t o the innards with fingers and l icking them as an American chi ld vould clean a cake-mixing bovl. A curious decorative emblem observed s e t i n embossed concre-te over the new church windorrs is a s t a r inside a crescent, but with no imoxm re la t ion t o a Moslem origin. Unfortunately, l e s s care i s exercised toward the public school building and desks, chairs and books. The 1a.t-ber we1.e scat tered ab0v.t hither and yon, amid other debris,. and a few books l a y open on the damp f loor of coiicrete including three copies of a book en t i t l ed : "The Wonderful World of Science" about t h i r d grade level , and three copies of a song book en t i t l ed "New Yisic Horizons. " The old pastor here i s by name Tokeak, two of the deacons a r e Jokiarilr and Langwor. The l a t t e r is the ad.opted fa ther of Nashon the 21 year-old magistra.ce who speaks a f a i r English and who entertained me hospitably f o r four days a t h i s fa ther ' s house. irlalter Milne, representing h i s brother, James Milne, who oms the schooner Raete on which I traveled, traveled himself with the schooner, but hired a Marshallese f o r captain. Walter who had been put up by Ebon people when h i s house vas demolished by bombing or shel l ing during World War 11, paid off his longstanding obligations soc ia l ly by throwing a b ig par ty for h i s wartime hosts on the schooner, s a i l i ng around i n the lagoon and feeding h i s hosts and friends there; t h i s being the express purpose of the t r i p t o Ebon. He a l so brought them numerous presents. On the schooner I observed several pillows used by the Marshallese with pillow cases embroidered with such slogans a s "God bless you, my dear," "May a11 your dreams come true," and "Sleep with God's love.'' J a l u i t Atc l l -- Jabwor i s t h a t sect ion of t he se r ies of connected former i s l e t s known a s J a l u i t t h a t l i e s a t the extreme northern end of the s e r i e s and adjacent t o one of the deepwater passes, north of which, about a quarter of a mile dis tant , l i e s Enibor, another s e r i e s of connected i s l e t s . The connection i n each case i s a sea-wall-protected causeway constructed by the Japanese t o l i n k the concrete f o r t s and bunkers and gun emplacements. A handcart r a i l - road i s sa id t o have run along the causeway. A t numerous points the remains of for t s , bunkers and heavy guns as well as s h e l l cases, s t i l l stand. The seawall i s generally about a foot thick, of reinforced concrete, broken by storm waves i n places. The causevay sectors of the long i s l e t s resul t ing from the connections a r e often not more than 15-25 f e e t wide, with only Pandanus, Pemphis acidula and Messerschmidia as well a s Scaevola t r e e grovth, although various vines and weeds overgrow much of the ground. Many introduced decora- t i v e t r e e s are found on Sabwor i t s e l f , which is the widest p a r t of the i s l e t of J a l u i t . Few coconut palms remain here, although some young t r ee s now f ive o r s i x years old have been planted. The main growths s ince the end of the war have been Pandanus and numerous weeds. Many concrete platforms mark the location of foin~er Japanese houses destroyed by bombs and she l l s during World War 11; some are being u t i l i z e d fo r new construction foundations for the Trust Ter r i to ry ' s agricul-tural s t a t i on a t the t i p of the i s l e t adjacent t o the pass, and f o r the settlement of laborers and the Protestant and Catholic missions and schools now being b u i l t up. Here i s a good anchora~e and a con- c r e t e p i e r i n somewhat dilapidated. condition. The southern p a r t of the settlement has an area s e t aside for the K i l i people t o use as a base f o r f ishing and f o r warehouse and communication purposes. Immediately south of the K i l i sector t he i s l e t narrows t o about 20 f e e t width and continues southwestward i n varying and generally narrow widths u n t i l another former i s l e t of some width i s reached about three miles away. Here is a former p i e r and two 300-feet ( ? ) high s t e e l towers, one on the lagoon s ide and one on the seaside b u i l t by the Japanese for communications. The seaside tower i s badly rusted through and unusable; t he lagoonside tower i s compara- t ive ly i n t ac t , and I climbed the ladder t o t he top f o r photos. The remains of l a rge buildings l i e adjacent t o the 'cowers, t h e i r concrete walls are still standing and possibly usable, i f roofed over. Breadfruit t rees i n some ilum- ber occur here as well a s a dense grovth of other t rees . L i t t l e i f any at- tempt has been made t o c l ea r the undergrowth tha t has sprouted up here since the erid of t he war. Northward and across the channel from Jabwor, the i s l e t of Enibor quickly narrows a f t e r an i n i t i a l width allowing breadfrui.t t r ee growth and contiilues i n 20-50 f e e t width for many miles interrupted now and again by gun emplacements and corroded guns and fallen-in-bunkers of concrete and coral rock. Over a l l these grow a "jungle" of a t o l l t rees , shrubs and vines. Numerous crabs and an occasional brown rat rus t l ed i n the ground debris while lovely white f a i r y terns, white-capped grey noddy and now and then a reef heron flew overhead. The coconut t rees growiing here are a l l young. Nuch Pandanus has covered the area, with Messerschmidia and Scaevola prevalent on .". the seaward side, as well as occasional Pemphis acidula; Guet'carda is more prevalent on the lagoonside or the i n t e r io r . ~t-one point oil the seaward s ide were several l a rge boulders torn from the reef edge and measuring about 6 f e e t cubed, having been pushed by storm waves t o within 20 f e e t of the beach edge and 150 f e e t from the reef edge. Imroj I s l e t next t o an eastern deep pass of the a-coll has a reported 300 people. The settlement looks ra ther shabby, but the i s l e t appears productive. A s t r i k ing amount of paidanus, bananas, and some lime t r ee s grow on it. Breadfruit t rees a r e low but numerous. Many squash or pumpkin vines were seen i n blossom and appeared t o be flourishing. On the northern end i s a s a l t water basin fed by underground t i d a l flow i n which mangrove thrives. A l a rge bu t dilapidated Protestant church is a prominent landmark. Some Catholic converts a l so l i v e here, including Jobjabo-t who sa i led a s crew member of Father Donohue's St . Joseph during my t r i p . The magistrate was absent, and a man named Karen took it upon himself t o show me the courtesies of the place. K i l i Island -- This lagoonless i s l a n d i s surroundedby a r e e f of ra ther narrow dimen- sions especially r e s t r i c t e d on the leeward s ide. It is backed on t h i s s ide by a sand beach i n the southwest sector where small boat landings can be made through a 20-feet-wide channel a-t low t ide . A t high t i d e such landings are made with care d i r ec t ly on the rocky tiad bouldery shore. A high bouldery and rocky beach occupies most of the r e s t of the shoreline except a s t r e t ch f'ron'cing the north end of the islet vhere sand again occurs. S a l t water enters through coarse boulders in-to a bra,clrish pond on the leeward s ide sur- rounded bjr a growth of emp phis acidula which here a l so grow on the boulder rampart runilin~; inward from the beach. A f resh water swamp now planted pa r t l y i n ta ro occupies the cen t ra l p a r t of the i s l e t i n back of the v i l l age proper. The highest point of land i s occupied by the neat ly thatched l i t t l e church. The wooden houses furnished by the American au thor i t i es a r e not i n very good condition and a re ugly shacks a t worst. The islet has a high vegetation and i s endowed with abundant r a i n f a l l as indicated bu the damp s o i l and moulding p i l e s of husks. It reminded me - - of Ringutoru I s l e t i n ~apingamarangi, 7,rith a f lourishing growth of Asplenium nidus and Nephrolepis h i r su tu la standing up t o s i x f e e t high i n the northern - end vhere coconut t rees a l so have been allowed t o grow and sprout crowded .together f a r too densely fo r good production. ~ m a l i delicate~mushrooms were observed, similar t o those seen a t Likiep and J a l u i t . Moss covers the paths a s at Nukuoro Atoll. The ta ro swamp, however, is badly tended, and overgrown with 2-3 f e e t t a l l grass and ferns. Huch of the swamp is s t i l l unplanted and lying i n waste and weeds. I n the swamp there was a la rge growth of a woody stemmed weed cal led mer ( ~ u s s i a e a suffrut icosa) by my guide. It has small yellov four-petaled - flowers. On the sandy leeward beach-ridge grows several - 1ri;no t rees ( ~ o r a i a sub- - cordata) one of which i s 6 f e e t i n diameter one foe% from the ground, but branches thereaf ter i n t o limbs of about one foot diameter each. A Morinda c i t r i f o l i a was seen with a trunk diameter of about one foot. Some of the K i l i people complain about not enough foodand not enough var ie ty of food, but there appear t o be numerous breadf ru i t and a f a i r num- ber of banana t rees as well as coconut t r e e s and some pandanus. Some 10,000 t a r o plants were brought i n for them t o plant, but the people a r e unused t o i t s culture and apparently do not par t icu la r ly l i k e t o work i n the ta ro f ie lds . They a t e up the taro, often without replanting the tops, so t ha t the stock i s much reduced. While 210 or so people i n 1956 may be ra ther too many for so small an area, food production from the land probably is greater than tha t from the i r erstwhile Bikini homeland, although they miss the r i ch lagoon f ishing area. They appear not t o be rrorking too hard a h improving t h e i r plant production, however. Fishink is e i the r on the narrow reef a t high t ide , or i n the open ocean- where it is r e s t r i c t ed t o the leemiid s ide not f a r from shore. Five or s i x outriggers were used i n l i n e f ishing and a dozen men and boys were standing on the reef a t high t i d e using goggles and spears for f i s h and mollusks. Be- fore our schooner l e f t about a dozen f i s h 7-9 inches l o i g were bought or ex- changed by our schooner's owner from the K i l i people. The Eli s-tore was the bes t stocked seen on the outlying a t o l l s during our t r i p , although t h i s does not indicate the buying power of the K i l i people: Kwajelein Atol l - The i s l e t s v i s i ted on Kwajelein had been violently disturbed by war ac t iv i t i e s and the vegetation was thus quite abnormal. The i s l e t s v i s i t ed included f ive north of Kwajelein, of vhich Ebeje (commonly knom as Ebeye owing t o American usage) is the only one with a settlement, except fo r the one family l i v ing on South Loe I s l e t next northward of Ebeye. Northward of South Loe are North Loe, Bijinkur, and Eboj. Most of the l a t t e r three a re under100 f e e t vide, although Eboj i s qui te long. Scaevola i s the dominant vegetation throughout Eboj, although Ipomoea - pes-caprae f z m s a creeper mat i n large areas. A few scat tered Messerschmidia and a few Pandanus occur, with a few coconut t rees here and t h e r procumbens a l so was prevalent i n places and flourished be t t e r i n t h m m h a n i n the hot sun adjacent, or, a t l eas t , showed larger leaves of greener hue, although having feiier blossoms i n the shade. North Loe was overrun with Wedelia b i f l o r a and Vigna marina i n much the same way t h a t Ebeje is. A few Guettarda t rees occur and Messerschmidia i s ra ther common here. Pernuhis vas not seen here, but my informant sa id t h a t it was common on the small h h a b i t e d i s l e t s of the atol l ; Its hard-t,iearing wood i s used fo r husking s t icks , for inaking canoe keels, and i n the olden days, fo r spears. Kwajelein I s l e t i s jus t a large a i r f i e l d with a mil i tary settlement and f a c i l i t i e s . The Navy has a dai ly fe r ry service between Ebeye and IGiajelein I s l e t s t o take the Marshallese employees back and forth. Ebeye is a vi l lage of over a thousand Marshallese from man;. a t o l l s ?rho vork fo r the Navy fbr t he i r existence for the most par t . On the i s l e t is a Coast Guard Loran s t a t ion ( t h i s operates a radio guiding system for ships), the Kvajalein Island Trading Company ( ~ i t c o ) , the Marshalls Import and Export Company ( ~ i e c o ) , a few small s tores with pool tables, and the off ices and residences of the Trust Terr i tory Administrator. The l a t t e r is i n the process of construc'ting new quarters but i n the meantime l ives i n an old "temporary" housing uni t l e f t over from the war period. However, the Coast Guard s e l l s them e l e c t r i c pover fo r l i gh t , deep freeze and refr igerator , and they have a running water system derived from an elevated tank in to which water i s pumped from a concrete c i s te rn col- l ec t ing rainwater. Four or f ive small rooms i n a building next t o the i r s serve as hostel accommodation fo r v i s i t o r s . Ebeye i s depressing from a vegetatinn standpoint. Aside from a couple of small clumps of coconuts and a scat ter ing of Messerschmidia, most of the vege- ta t ion comprises a half dozen var ie t ies of weeds. Likiep Atol l The t!.ro chief res ident ia l i s l e t s l i e a t opposite ends of the long lagoon some twenty miles apart. O f these the most important by f a r i s Liliiep I s l e t and vi l lage on the eas t end. There a l so a re a few residents i n the other larger i s l e t s scat tered along the reef . The shape of Likiep I s l e t i s l i k e tha t of a fishhoolir.rithout the barb, the sharply curved pa r t being i n the eastern end, so tha t an excellent sheltered harbor i s formed with sandy bottom t h a t is deep enough t o accommodate the larger vessels t h a t v i s i t the a t o l l , Yhc vi l lage i s arouwl t h i s sect iun of -Lhe harbor. A t t he end of the hook sand has been accumulating consistently, f o r a long period, aiid exLendLng the shore l i n e i n t o the lagoon. R p i e r s i tua ted here now has its face 20-30 f e e t from the deep vater t ha t formerly vas alongside, so a new pie? extension has been b u i l t i n t o the lagoon. Capelle DeBrurn, one of the tlro leading men of the a t o l l , s t a t ed t h a t so far as he had observed, no noticeable erosion of a serious s o r t had made inroads upon the land area of the i s l e t from the oceanside, The i s l e t i s not more than 300-500 f e e t vide being narrovest i n the w s t e r n end, Scaevola and Messerschmidia and some Pemphis cover the en t i r e seavard s t r i p for a depth of 20-50 f e e t , This has been l e f t as a she l te r b e l t in tent ional ly t o afford the coconut t r ee s protection from the s a l t spray. The lagoon-side has been en t i r e ly cleared of weed species, and coconut t r ee s grov r igh t up t o the edge of the beach. Breadfruit t r ee s a r e abundant on the vi l lage end where the breadth of the i s l e t is greates t . None appear more than 40-50 f e e t high and they a re much branched close. t o the ground. The r e s t of the is land i s generally planted t o ?re11 spaced coconut t rees , with occasional Pandanus and more rarely Calophyllum as an understory, a l - though the l a t t e r a r e l e f t as shade t rees on the beach next t o the vil lage. The ground-cover i s mostly grasses, some foot-high succulent weeds, entangled i n some areas with Cassytha fi l iformis, the whole topped by a ra ther dense growth of a r rowoot used here for food as elsewhere i n the northern Marshalls a f t e r the breadfrui t season, together a i t h t h e pandanus vhich then comes i n t o prpduction more abundantly. A s t r ik ing topographical feature on Lilciep I s l e t a r e the many la rge depressions on the western half of the i s l e t , some round, some elonga-Led, but with no special d i rec t iona l aligmnent. They reach down approximately .to the surface of ground water. Several have been planted t o taro, but some have coconut t r ee s growing i n them. An old man of 70 when asked about them sa id t ha t he had heard tha t they had been caused by storms i n ancieilk times, but he did not know how they originated. This appeared to be the opinion of other oldermen who did not believe they were dug f o r t a r o p i t s although some have been used for t h i s . Today there i s only a small amount of taro grown a t Likiep. NUT opinion i s tha'c they were man-made t a ro p i t s dug before memory of the present people. l4ajor storms have come from the southvest and northwest. The l a s t m a j o r storm was i n 1918 when some 5,000 coconut t r ee s were knoclied over, but it was not a severe storm. There vas no serious land erosion, a l6hou~h i i l several places on the lagoon side, accretion of land has taken place owin& t o sand accumulation. Water supply generally is p l en t i fu l , although occasioilal low periods occur when no r a i n f a l l s i n 3-4 months. A local ized growth of Wedelia b i f lo ra occurs on two sides of the path -- -- near the middle of the i s l e t . Numerous pa+,'.ches of sandbur @ass a l so bordered the path, The general aspect of -the coconut plantation i s very clean; a11 leaves and husks a r e p i led up and burned. This in jures some of the coconut t r e e trunks. There a r e three var ie t ies of breadfruit , moderately high yielding, with the producing season being from May t o August; some production occurs i n February. The pandanus seasons a re January t o May and August t o December, i.e., from August t o May, thus taking the people through the period vhen bread- f r u i t is not i n season. Arrowroot ( ~ a c c a ) i s not planted but grows abund- - ant ly by i t s e l f . Food supplies a r e lowest i n September. Most of the coconut t rees here date back t o German planting by the an- cestors of the present land-owners; a few were planted during the Japanese times. Trio var ie t ies of taro-plants gror,~ here: Iraj (~yrtosperma chamis- sonis) a large variety, and kotalr ( ~ o l o c a s i a esculenta) the t rue taro. Each - -family has a pig or two and a few chickens. . s ( f p o m o e a tuba) a vine, -is fed t o pigs. It has a white morning-glory type flower. Plumeria and Bougainvillea have been introduced as ornamentals. The outside f iber of kriumfetta procumbens i s used f o r handicraft weaving, Pemphis wood f o r fur- ni ture and canoe keels, Morinda fruit fo r p ig feed, and Calophyllum fo r boat keels and other par ts having hard wear. Some 3 o r 4 poisonous var ie t ies of f i sh , which everyone recognizes, occur i n the lagoon or on the reef . Capelle reported t h a t on Phjuro a type of f i s h which had regularly been eaten for years had, about two years ago, suddenly become poisonous. The wooden house with the t i n roof i s preferred here, par t icu lar ly be- cause it i s used f o r water catchment and provides water much cleaner than t h a t trashed do~m from thatch with the l a h e r ' s accumulation of ilisects, skinks, l i za ra s , e tc . Wood had been easy t o ge t from salvage and scrap a t Kwajelein a f t e r the w a r , but i s now growing scarce. For a time it had been f ree fo r anyone t o take. Likiep has no large breadfruit t rees su i tab le for canoe dugouts; for- merly canoes riere made from drif t logs, but i n recent years dr i f t logs have grown qui te scarce (possibly owing t o change i n lumbering or ra f t ing opera- t ions i n the northwest of the U. s.?). During German times there had s t i l l been some sea-going canoes, but western type boats were b u i l t and used fo r i n t e r - a to l l travel. Now canoes a re a l l too small for th i s , and they a l so a r e ra ther few in number. During Japanese times, a large steamer v is i ted the a t o l l s once every two months, r,rliile smaller schooners made t r i p s t o each a t o l l once a month o r oftener. Liliiep has two local ly 0 ~ ~ e d schooners t h a t operate between here and Kwajelein o r Majuro. Transportation fo r Likiep, thus, i s not a serious problem. In June 1956 some 518 people were resident upon the a t o l l , most of them on Likiep I s l e t . About two-thirds of the loca l population is Protestant, and perhaps one-third is Catholic. The former have a large but unpretentious -- 9 :u-ch whose pastor is Koneaea. The Catholic church i s new, 'rith a new rec- t cqr . nuns' house and school, a l l i n br ight aluminum and neatly l a i d out. The resident American p r i e s t i s presently Father McCarthy whose schooner ran on the reef a t Ktiajelein not 13ng ago because the p i l o t and passengers were ;'I..:. asleep. H i s eii,:ine was rescued, bu-t .the hu l l was abandoned. Likiep i s the center fo r Catholic g i r l s t education i n t he Marshalls. Before German times Likiep vas temporarily uninhabited, bu-t was v i s i t ed by Votje people from time t o time for f ishing, t u r t l e and b i rd catching or for ~,7ood supplies. In the 1870's four meil, an American, an Englishman, a German and a Porbuguese combined the i r resources and bougPc the a t o l l from the Motje chief \;rho owed it. Actually, by t r i b a l custom he did not have the r i gh t t o a l iena te the land. A few years l a t e r , the American and English- man so ld out t o the remaining partners mid the a t o l l became the property of the Capelle and DeBrum families %;hose descendants remain the omers. It was not until then t h a t coconut plantations w r e l a i d out, t he olmers h i r ing laborers from other a t o l l s t o coine i o Lilciep t o work for them. The l a t t e r eventually s e t t l e d permanently as laboring families on the a-boll and l o s t t h e i r outside connections as f a r a s land r igh t s elsewhere rrere concerned. Not7 these laboring families have been res ident some 70 years and have nowhere e l s e t o go. They have no l ega l r igh ts t o l o c a l land, however, and work the plantations on a share-crop basis for the land-o~mers. The l a t t e r consis t of the two clans, 'the Capelle with e izht families, and the DeBrw v i t h nine families. The or ig ina l otrners intermarried with Marshallese and subsequently with each other. Capelle DeBrum is no17 recognized as head of the combined clans, while Melander DeBm, h i s brother, i s next i n rank, and the two a'e a t -the top of the soc ia l and p o l i t i c a l hierarchy. Only one of the landowning families, Raymond DeBrum, i s Protestant, the Test being Catholic, vhi le most of the laboring families are Frotestant. The economic conf l ic t t ha t has occurred betveen the landed and the landless i s thus sharpened by religious division. Some of the 1.rundless recently have t r i e d t o make claim for prugerty r i gh t s i n land bu% have been unsuccessful. Dissat isfact ion with e a r l i e r agreements f o r crop division recently brought on discontinuance of copra making work by many of the laborers, apparently supported by Raymond DeBrm, bu-t the present a:-raaCemr:nt of a 50-50 s p l i t of copra proceeds appears t o have sa t i s f i ed most of the Xborers . Feri~aps 25 per cent of them s t i l l a r e disgruntled and a re not too act ive i n producing copra. A serious pes t affect ing breadfruit has been recently notice& (about a year or so ago). It turns bi-eadfruit blackish-bro>m, spreading from an in- fected spot t o the e n t i r e f r u i t which then becomes rot ten. I-t r7as noticed f i r s t on one t r e e a t t he south end of.:Lhe vi l lage, but t h i s summer infesta- t ion vas noted on several other t rees , including one a t the other end of the vil lage. Small f r u i t f l i e s f l u t t e r ed about -the ro t ten or diseased f r u i t , but these m8y be a t t r ac t ed by the spoiled f r u i t ra ther than by the disease car r ie r . Capelle expressed trorry tha t t h e i r spread t o a l l the t rees vould ruin t h i s irrrpor'~an'c food source for Likiep. Lodo I s l e t is a quarter of a mile northvard across the channel from Lilriep vil lage. I t s aspect i s similar t o the plantat ion area of Liiiiep I s l e t . It is well cleared of undergrowth up t o the she l t e r b e l t on the oceanside vhere a conside~.zI)?I.e p;rowJCh of Wedelia - b i f lo ra occurs. Kctemp-Ls have been made t o burn it. In other areas the ground cover is much thinner than on Likiep I s l e t , re f lec t ing a d r i e r s o i l . Grass intertwined rrith Cassytha f i l i formis makes a th in mat. Six o r seven houses a r e scat tered along the lagoon s ide on the wider eas t end of the i s l e t . Maas Hone, who recently completed h is f i r s t year a t the University of Hawaii, i s the aLab or head lando~mer of the i s l e t , succeeding h i s fa ther who died t h i s spring, On the vest end of Lodo i n the Ynter-islet channel the beach rock r i s e s out of deep water i n a coral c l i f f , A great slab had broken off due t o erosion and undermining. On walking along the lagoon shore with me, Maas noticed dense schools of small f i sh , sardine-like and 7-3 inches long. He got a thror,~ ne t and, t r a i l i n g the schools from shore,,n~ade a catch of about 150 f i s h a f t e r about 40 minutes an& half a dozen throw of the net. Maas informed me tha t there tras at l e a s t one i s l e t oi mal l s i z e along the reef .that tras covered with a t r ee 1,111ose description points t o Pisonia. It was an i s l e t with many nesting birds. In traveling westward close t o the lagoonshore on the schooner, I observed an i s l e t with vegetation t h a t ap- peared t o correspond t o t h a t of Pisonia. Many birds c i rc led over it. Liglaa I s l e t a t the opposite end of the lagoon from Likiep I s l e t has i ts lagoon beach facing the prevail ing vind. Vessels v i s i t i ng t h i s place sail out through the adjacent pass and anchor off the oceanside reef i n the l ee of the wind. After Likiep I s l e t , Liglaa has the l a rges t number of residents. Actually, it comprises two i s l e t s close together separated by a few yards of channel. The larger one of the two, with a lagoonside beach is cal led Imejwa; the smaller is Maat. It took me about three hours of steady valking t o encircle hejwa. A remarkable and high sand beach with a c re s t 12 f ee t above high t i de s lan ts a t a 30-40 degree angle t o the water. From the c re s t there i s a s l i gh t ly sloping backshore which sometimes turns in to a number of 1011 dunes reaching inward 75-100 f e e t from the southeast end of the i s l e t around t o and along the eas t side. The seavard side t o the l e e of the wind. has a pronounced beachrock development i n several well-marked s t r a t a sloping a t 15-25 degrees dip. The channel t o the north of the i s le - t has vhat appeared t o be raised bedrock i n spectacular formations. They probably represent the remnants of i s l e t s formerlj covered with s o i l now destroyed by storm action. Along the sandy beach c re s t of the lagoon s ide and oil the southeast end Scaevola i s the dominant cover, with Cassytha thro t t l ing much of it. By conti ,-st the northvest channel s ide and %he ocean s ide f ind Pemphis forming a spray-burned and impenetrable she l te r b e l t . The crowns of some of these shot7 d i s t i n c t alignments controlled by vind and spra;y. The westward coast of the i s l e t has sharply eroded bedrock standing several f e e t above the main reef f l a L A t t h e r ee f ' s edge here -the l i tho- thamnion ridges have a beaut i ful pink color, but t h i s disappears i n the leeward p a r t of the reef . The southeast sections of -the i s l e t are park-like and irell-cleared. Hcxever, everyvhere thousands of coconuts 1 i t t . e r the ground, maiiy $re11 sprouted wi-th half a year 's gro~rth, indicating the neglec-t t ha t the lab- orers ' dispute -vith the landoxrners has brought about. A t the northvest sectors of the i s l e t , neglect has permitted a rank growth of sprou'cing coconut t r ee s 6-10 f e e t high, in-terminsled with Pandanus t rees . The ground i s heavily l i t t e r e d v i t h leaf and debris among the young grovth, so i n places one f inds %he t,hickets impenetrable. Ma juro Atol l -- Majuro i s quite a large a t o l l , about 30 miles or so long - with numer- ous i s l e t s - including a large one, FaJuro I s l e t about 4 square miles i n area. Uliga a t the opposite end of the a-toll from Majuro and rrhere the Trust Terri tory Di s t r i c t Administration i s centered i s unrepresentative bu t s t i l l exemplifies an essen t ia l par-t of the Marshallsg economic and soc ia l trans- formation and acculturation processes. Here an a i r f i e l d v i th t~eelcly connec- t ions by Trust Terri tory plane and occasional Navy plane, a motor road system, trucks and jeeps, wharf and terminal warehouses f o r ocean fre ighters , e l ec t r i c l igh ts , hospi ta l with medical and dental services, and more and bet-Cer comodit ies a t Kitco and Mieco, as rrell as a comissary v i t h a l l es- s e n t i a l foodstuffs, and a r e g u l a r l j paid s t a f f , with money and things t o be purchased, a l l occur. Here i s the s ea t of overa l l government as v e l l a s t he center of inter- is land p o l i t i c a l re la t ions and the s i t e of the Marshallese Congress. blar damage t o vegetation is apparent i n the lack of rrel.1 planted coco- nut plan-tations and i n the overgror&h of weds . Par t of 'chis i s due t o the f a c t t h a t some land has been r e t a h e d by the Trust Terri toii j Administration, but i s not being immediately used by it. Only when one gets may from t h i s center does the vegetation s i tua t ion become more normal i n the sense of native plantations, a s i n the case of Enegn I s l e t , about three i s l e t s eas t of the pass, on the north reef . However, even here t he s i tua t ion appears affected by the nearness t o the administration center of wage-paid labor, where cash is abundant e:.iough so tha,t urgency i n vorlring copra may not be pressing. O r , possibly, the o\.mer of a large sec-Lion of t h i s i s l e t l i ve s f a r across the l e ~ o o n and seldom gets t o Enegu t o vork h i s copra. The eastern tvo-thirds of the i s l e t are overgrown with weeds and have sprouted coconuts strerm over the grw~nd, the s tage of grovth of t he la'c-ter indicatine; many months, possibly a year, of neglect, with sprouted nuts having fronds up t o f ive f e e t or more i n height. On the ves t end of Enegu, a res ident ia l owner l ived i n a i l a r ea newly planted rribh neatly rows of coconut t rees about three years old. kmediately a f t e r the war or during the war, the area had been cleared for use by the Coast Guaxd. according t o my inf ormat~t. This expl.a,j.nerl the uncrovcleed vegeta- t ion an& nev coconut pla.nt,ati.ons i n s t r a igh t r o w a s a.clvised by 'the AmerLcm agr icu l tura l aide. Bananas and papayas a re p l en t i fu l on t h i s a t o l l , a s is breadfrui.L. Taro i s mostly lacking, however, and the people prefer t o buy r i c e and f lour a s s tap le subst i tutes . Maloelap Atoll - Airik and adjacent Makaru I s l e t s oil t h i s a t o l l were v is i ted by the wri ter i n a Navy plane tha t landed i n the lagoon. The former i s the main res ident ia l i s l e t of the a t o l l . The other i s l e t s i n the a t o l l were heavily damaged by the war, a s they were used by the Japanese f o r an a i r base and numerous ins ta l la t ions and buildings with concrete platforms t h a t have ob- s t ruc ted the replanting of the area x i t h coconut or other f r u i t f u l t rees . Wrecked planes and equipment and buried ammunition, unexploded she l l s and mines s t i l l cause the people t o be f ea r fu l about clearing land and cul t ivat- ing. Only recently a s h e l l exploded without being touched o r moved, and s i x auyno dumps or she l l s and a mine vere exploded by a Navy demolition team sent there i n July of t h i s year. Such areas a re overgrown with weeds and weed t rees of many years growth, so tha t clearing then w i l l involve much labor. Airilc I s l e t or Village appeared t o be p len t i fu l ly planted with produc- t i v e breadfruit , pandanus and coconut. The breadfruit t rees , however, a re low, under 40 feet , as a t Likiep. The i s l e t i s wide, about 1200 f e e t i n sectors near the northern end. About 200 f e e t of t h i s width on the ocean side, however, has been l e f t as a she l te r b e l t i n which a r a r e pure strand of Barringtonia was observed, a stand about 150 f e e t across, a ra ther unusual feature on a to l l s . No ta ro pits a re alanted t o taro. but old ?> i t s contain banana plants. No Pemphis or ~uriana-were seen on t6e ocean side, Scaevola being the predominant she l te r b e l t t ree , plus a few Pandanus and Guettarda and another shrub resembling Scaevola. On Maltaru I s l e t only the lagoonward t h i r d appeared t o be cleared and with coconut uncrowded by weed t rees , the oceanward two-thirds being a jungle of undergrowth including numerous young coconut sprouts surrounding the adult palms. As seen from the airplane pink algae appear t o cover the windward seaward reef-edge. Mejit Island - Mejit i s a re la t ive ly large is land as i s l e t s on reefs go. It has two sections once separated by a narrow channel, but no separate names were a t - tached t o them. The larger section vhich has the grea tes t breadth was known a s the "main island," the other section was merely cal led " that island" or "the other part ." The channel appears t o have been no mvre than 100 f e e t wide or l e s s a t the ocean side, broadening t o 400 f e e t o r more towards the lagoon side. There a l so appeared t o have been an i n l e t o r tongue of the "lagoon" imto " tha t island." on the lagoon s ide which now comt i tu t e s a s a l t lake with a marshy fringe. The formation of t h i s appears t o have occurred during Japanese occupa-tion times when the channel gradually f i l l e d i n with sand pushed i n by the t i de from the "lagoon s ide," so t h a t norr there is a 'oi:c;ad sandy connection between the trio par ts , making the rrhole a s ing le island surrounded by a reef . On the leevard s ide of the i s land is a narrow shallov "lagoon" hardly more than 150 yards wide and s t re tching along much of the leevard side. A t low tide, it takes only about ten minutes t o walk from the v i l l age along the almost eqosed reef t o the ocean edge of t he reef . The leerfard beach is of f ine sand and unusually high, appearing 17-20 f e e t from low vater t o beach c res t , The southwest beach also is s a n d i b u t much lower. The vegetated area here runs inward from the beach c r e s t i n a sandy s t r i p 250 f ee t vide; then the land suddenly r i s e s 5-6 f e e t i n elevation i n a l i n e roughly SE t o NW. The vegetation re f lec t s the lov r a i n f a l l and is similar -to t h a t found on the islets of Likiep, Utirik, and Ailulc. Breadfruit trees are 1011, but appear t o do well and are productive. There a r e numerous papaya t r ee s and some banana t rees . The undergrot,rth belorr t he coconut t rees charac te r i s t ica l ly i s a mixture of various grasses and ra ther dense stands of arrorrroot ( ~ a c c a ) ; - with few veed-tree or bush species, although Pandanus t r ee s a r e inmerous. The aspect i s parlc-like, and it i s easy t o walk i n any direct ion across t he island. On the eas'c-southeast s ide a gradual r i s e occurs about 200 f e e t from the beach ridge. Ipomoea - tuba, a morning-glory type vine, without f lovers a t the time of observation, forms 3, dense ground cover i n places i n the in- t e r io r . Scaevola and Messerschmidia form a she l t e r b e l t on the ocean s i a e here, fol lo~red on the inward pa r t by a zone of Pandanus 20-30 f e e t vide. In- vard from the e a s t beach Cassytha f i l i fo rmis forms a dense ground cover together with Lepturus and other grasses for a width inland of over 250 fee t . Roads 6-7 f e e t vide, bordered with a l i n e of cora l stones, extend through the v i l l age and around the main i s l e t , as v e l l as through sections of the adjoiniag " that island." Many of .these roads a r e overgrotm with low weds and grasses, however. 600 f e e t inland from the eas t shore Ipoinoea tuba sp covers the ground t o a height of several f e e t as t o const i tute a serious i m - pediment t o brallrine,. Here a l so a r e fomd some Norinda bushes of small s ize . Another 100 f e e t westvard and invard and not f a r from the vi l lage a r e numer- ous ta ro p i t s , some well weeded and with a water-fi l led "drainage" di tch around the edge of the p i t ; others abaiidoned and not i n use for taro. Bread- f r u i t t rees nn the banks of these p i t s a r e sc ramy and small, vYbh trunks of under 1-2 f e e t diameter and with the main " i k s generally broken off and ro t ten a f t e r reaching a height of 20-30 fee t . Pandanus t r ee s are a l so ra ther 1011, but a r e numerous on the haLf of 'che i s l e t occupied by the vi l lage. The old channel and pa r t of the i n l e t t h a t now has become f i l l e d with sand have been plauted during t h e l a s t "cro t o f i ve years with. coconut t rees , most of which a r e doing ra ther poo?ly, appearing chlorot ic . The lagoonward or, ra ther , leeward p a r t of "tha.t island" a l s o has a s o i l of nearly pure sand on vhich the coconut t rees are lov, chlorot ic and of-ten dea.d. In sec- t ions of the f i l l ed - in channel AOV plairbed with coconut t rees , there s t i l l remain numerous clumps of Pemphis. acidula t o show tha t t h i s once stood i n - s a l t .,rater. Doub-bless underlying the sand arovnd. the Pemphis Lhere i s so l id rock commonly found associated v l t h t h i s t r e e or bush. A__ Brupuiera. type man- grove t r ee s l i n e the edges of the s a l t pond and a r e ba.cked br Pemphis. Only t h i s one species of masgrove vas noticed. One species of bush which was very common i n par t s of the i n t e r io r was a low growing cype ca l led u3 by -the inhabitants (~lerodendrum inerme). It has a white flower fonninv ail incomi~lete c i r c l e of a e t a l s soijlevhat l i k e those of the Scaevola. A s i i i l a r planrt, a l so cal led uik (~seuderanthemum car ru thers i i ) , is sometimes used for hedges around residence lo t s . F l ies were numerous and annoying; small swarms of them followed one even on the breezy windward s ide beach. Namu Atoll -- Our schooner made a landiilg 0'1 the leeward lagoon shore of Mai I s l e t of Namu Atoll . This i s l e t showed an obvious change t o a rretter climate i n comparison with Maloelap. N a i is i n the southeast end of the a t o l l . Coco- nut t r ee s here are very t a l l and old, and the s o i l appeared black with humus and f e r t i l e . Breadfruit t rees grev more than 90 f e e t t a l l , one was seen t o be f i ve f e e t i n diameter a t waist level . The in t e r io r of t he i s l e t has a lov swampy trough p a r a l l e l t o the shore. Coconuts sprouting 12-15 f e e t apar t resulted i n some crorrding. Wedelia b i f lo ra weeds were rampant over much of the land. The s o i l surface was bouldery, with coconut fronds l e f t about i n disorder t o ro t . Iviorinda i s a common understory t r e e with some Guettarda. Ipomea tuba grew on par ts - of the windward beach. On the southeast channel beach on the vindrrard side of Mai grew some spray-burnt shrubs resembling Scaevola ca l led a ( ~ e r - - minalia samoensis) by my informant. The burning method of clearing the under- brush had damaged some coconut t r ee s i n t h i s p a r t of the i s l e t . A small p i t with smm ta ro was observed. the ednes ~ b n t e d with banana t rees . Onlv the s ingle l ea f type of fern (~oiypodiun-scoiopendria?) seen a t Likiep vas Lb- served here, no Asplenium nidus and no Nephrolepis t ha t characterize the - wetter pa r t s of the Marshalls. Prevalent weeds were Triumfetta procumbens, and a p lan t cal led ku l i (Sophora tomentosa); a glossy-leavede- g i ze t and ~ru~uiera%%iju-alled m) were observed. - The lagoon beach was c lear of large t r e e s and coconut t r e e s for a dis- tance of 20 f e e t back of the beach c res t , and the sand was sparsely covered with grass and seedlings of Scaevola and Messerschmidia, indicating recent sand accretion. The character is t ic habi t of Pandanus of sendiag a e r i a l prop roots down from even upper branches was shown by an example of such a root reaching ten f ee t do~mward from the branch. The taro- l ike plant cal led .;rot (Alocasia macrorrhiza), which i s not - edible, grew here i n large numbers under the breadfrui t and coconut t rees . One t a r o p i t was seen t o be overgro1,m with veeds, while four breadfrui t t rees grew on i ts banks, each about a foot i n diameter. The p i t s i z e was only 30 by 30 fee t . Pandanus is the common beach-edge shrub, but I saw no Pemphis or Suriana. There is some beach rock exposure on the lagoon shore i n the north end of Nai I s l e t . Across t he lagoon from Nai, our schooner anchored off the leeward ocean s ide of t he r ee f . On the rock f l a t of the reef near the pass there stands a huge boulder t ha t appeared 6-7 f e e t high and perhaps 10 by 20 f e e t across, t h a t must have been torn up from the reef edge by a storm wave. Uoserved i n passing on the leeward s ide of the i s l e t vas a reef whose edge was only a few yards from the shore, the boulder rampart on the i s l e t adjacent here appeared t o r i s e 5-6 f e e t higher than \?as i-&her sur- prising, since instead of a few more than the or ig ina l 74 people t h a t might be expected t o rant t o go back, a l l of the 175 people now 1.2 the settlemen-t wanted t o go there. M r . Neas thought tha-t possibly the p e a $ ai5tracLions were the wooden-tin-roofed houses vhich, although merely small one-room af- f a i r s , nevertheless provided a d r i e r place t o l i v e and l a s t e d a longer time without repairs than native houses, There possibly a l so has developed a community esprit-de-corps which may be a factor i n the des i re of the whole group t o move there ra ther than for Lhe hangers-on t o disperse t o t he i r o r ig ina l areas of residence. Finally, there perhaps a l s o may be some t,rish- f u l thinking t h a t i n s p i t e of the announced intentiori t o discontinue the subsidy, the Americans might s t i l l subsidize them i n some way. Captain P. C. Staley, Commander of the Kwajelein A i r Base, informed me Chat the problem of furnishing transportation for these people back t o Ronlap had been dumped i n t o h i s lap. He had not decided ye t whether he would send them back by a i r or boat. M r . Neas thought t ha t the b e s t way would be t o send one o r more landing c r a f t t o take the whole community ai; one time, a s had been done when they were removed from Ronlap, Ut i r ik Ato l l -- Utir ik Acoll has few islands, and they are not l a rge . The res ident ia l i s l e t of Uti r ik i s the largest , possibly 2500 f e e t long by about the same depth, roughly tr iangular, bu t with almost a mile of at tenuated s t r i p of bare sa,nd i n addition westward. There a r e several ra ther unusual features about t h i s i s l e t . Along the north s ide of the eastward bulge 0~eanlJard and ruming fo r about mile toward the lagoon with a width up t o 200 yards, is one of the l a rges t boulder and cobble beds and ramparts I have ye t seen among the a t o l l s . Nuch of it i s bare, the rocks and cobbles turned black and gray with algae. Most of it, however, is covered with a wide stand of Scaevola shrubs. A s the shoreline turns towards the southwest, tin equally unusual sand beach and baclrshore development takes place, with a tridth of about 200 f ee t . This a l so i s mostly covered with Scaevola, but with occasional Messerschmidia. On the south s ide of the island, where it abruptly narrows, the sand beach a l so narrows and i s bordered by a long s t r i p of exposed beach rock inward of which the ground has been scoured out by a typhoon which occurred, according t o my in- formant, during pre-Japanese times, possibly the one of 1905. The beach rock extends with charac te r i s t ic oceanward dip f o r a distance of more than a mile. Inward of it a desert-l ike e,xpanse of sand and gravel stretches f o r a width of 500 f e e t and narrows a s the end is approached. On the lagoon- s ide of t h i s patch is a second l i n e of beach rock, t h i s time dipping down toward the lagoon and having a f i ne texture which shows c lear ly i ts origin from lagoon sand. A new ridge of sand has been b u i l t up lagoonward of t h i s t o a height of 5-6 f e e t and i s covered with grass and occasioiml Scaevola. The la rge sand patch has scat tered clumps of Pemphis, Scaevola, and Messer- - schmidia, and i n one cen t r a l spot, a l so half a dozen coconut t rees with nuts. Most of it is bare. however. Because of the lack of cobbles and boulders i n t h i s scoured-out remnant of former vegetated land area, it can be as- sumed, perhaps, t h a t the storm-wind came from the d i rec t ion of the lagoon. This same wind probably accounts for the large sand beach development oil the south s ide described above. The nakure of the exposure and the posit ion of an adjoining i s l e t t o the northeast would indicate tha t Lhe s torn~ wind prob- ably swep-t across t h i s section of the i s l e t from a westerly direction. A ten-feet long saved-off seciion of a log three f e e t i n d-ianeter had dri!WxL on t o the southeastern s a d beach. On it uere cut the names Ole. and a l so Ha, and there was a blue-pencilled name, Hallecls. Probahly the log came from the northwest coast of the United States. I n the southwest end of the i s l e t exposed t o the sweep of the north or tlortheast wind from across the lagoon, the r e su l t s of a second storm appear. This storm occurred i n 1951, and brought the f a l l of 10-20 per cent of the coconut t r ee s then standing. The t rees l i e f a l l en tovard the sou-th t o south- vest di rect ions . Exposure of the roots shows the depth of the main roots t o be about 2; f e e t i n a smallish clump l e s s than 3 f e e t i n diameter, with sand as the s o i l consti tuent. The plantat ion vegetation i s similar t o t ha t at Kej i t m d Ailuk. A r - rovroot ( ~ a c c a ) - is omnipresent and quite dense, grasses of several species together with a f a i r amount of Triumfetta procwnbens form the ground cover. Breadfruit t rees here as elsewhere i n the northern V!rshalls a r e lotr, mostly from 20-30 f e e t high, some of the young vigorous ones well rounded and form- ing a beaut i fu l t ree . Fev had trunks over a foo t i n diameter. This i s par t ly explained by the f a c t tha t perhaps many, probably' most, l a rge bread- f r u i t t r e e s vere blown over i n the 1951 storm. Some black f u n ~ a s or other disease had attacked many of the leaves of some t r ee s observed. There were some abandoned taro p i t s i n the in te r ior , but I was to ld thal; no ta ro was being grovn.